Effect of damping groove on flow dynamics and vibration characteristics of axial piston pump

This paper presents pressure, flow and vibration characteristics of an axial piston pump valve plate with damping grooves. For flow ripple and vibration of the pump reduction, an improved compressible fluid model of axial-piston pump with damping groove is developed to analyze flow dynamics and vibration characteristics. A parametric analysis is performed to analyze the effects of damping groove on the discharge pressure and flow ripples of axial piston pump. The sensitivity of discharge pressure and flow ripple are analyzed to different pressure levels, speeds, and damping groove parameters. The results of pressure ripple and vibration characteristics are validated by experimental test. The experimental and simulation results differ by only approximately 0.75 MPa in the pressure ripple amplitude. The results of the vibration acceleration measurements show that the valve plate with damping groove reduces the vibration level by 0.4 mm/s2 at the rated working condition. It is the effective method that the valve plate parameters are improved to reduce vibration characteristics of axial piston pump.